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The
Plan
April 4, 2003
By K. Tomasi
It seems rather bleak, doesn't it? It's coming so fast, so
flagrantly, that one barely has time to contemplate one outrage,
when five others appear. The latest, of course, being our
invasion and attempted colonization of the Middle East.
I'm experiencing a growing sense of frustration and hopelessness;
a fear that the corporate despots who have seized control
of our government may very well be unstoppable; that every
possible contingency has already been contemplated, and a
response planned.
I imagine members of the Bush Cabal - Perle, Wolfowitz,
Rove, Cheney - sitting around the TV, breaking out in fits
of knee-slapping laughter as they discuss those trying to
mount some kind of resistance to their plans:
"Look at those fools, marching in the streets. They
just don't get it do they? They still think this is all politics
as usual."
"Enjoy it while you can. This show's scheduled for
cancellation once '911 - The Sequel' and 'Patriot Act II'
are released in the fall."
"How about those Democrats? Did you hear Lieberman
the other day? 'We all need to support the President during
a time of war'. I almost felt sorry for the poor bastard!
Hey Joe, let me be the first to thank you in advance for your
never ending support!"
"And did you hear that tone of voice Daschle used Friday?
You'd think he had some ridiculous idea he has a say in any
of this. Like he was the Senate Minority Leader or something!
Maybe we need to send him another little gift, just to remind
him of his obligations. A dozen 'powdered' donuts should do
it."
Yes, they're close to pulling it off. But they're not there
yet. Not quite. There's still one chance at stopping them,
or at least slowing them down long enough for history to catch
up and expose the deceit. That chance is the popular vote
in 2004.
Here's my proposal for taking advantage of that opportunity:
In the 2000 presidential election approximately 100 million
votes were cast. To simplify things, let's say half went to
Bush, half to Gore. If only 5 % of those who voted for Gore
- one person out of every 20 - made a commitment to do just
two things, we could change the course of this country overnight:
a) Convince at least two people that voted Republican in
2000 to switch sides in 2004.
b) Encourage two others who did not vote in 2000 to vote
Democratic.
Now seriously, this isn't insurmountable, is it? It only
requires one person out of 20. And you have a year and a half
to get it done. How many do each of us know - friends, family,
acquaintances - who voted for Bush in 2000, but are now, for
whatever reason, having serious doubts? And finding two people
of like mind that didn't bother to vote is a piece of cake.
If A and B were achieved, here's how the presidential election
might turn out (all else being equal): 10 million would be
added to the Democratic tally (2.5 million x 4); 5 million
subtracted from Bush (2.5 million x 2).
The outcome: Bush - 45 million votes (43%); the Democratic
candidate - 60 million votes (57%). Similar percentages could
carry over to the House and Senate, resulting in an absolute
landslide!
Now, one might argue that the Republicans could just as
easily do the same thing, offsetting the effort. Theoretically
maybe, but highly improbable. They're tapped out! Their growth
potential is incredibly constrained. Every major GOP voting
block is already onboard.
For example, there's only a limited number of hard right
wingers out there (although it appears otherwise due to their
vitriolic nature), and practically all of them already vote.
And in case you haven't noticed, their message is getting
quite frantic and a bit lame: "Oh yeah? Well this is
all Clinton's fault anyway, and… Bush is God's Chosen One,
and… well… if you don't like it, why don't you just shut up,
you traitor you!"
Outside of the wing nut realm of Dittoland, these are not
very persuasive arguments to thinking people.
There's also a limited number of the wealthy - those in
the top 5% - who represent the primary supporters, and beneficiaries,
of Bush's economic policies. They too already vote. And the
Bush administration is having a far more difficult time convincing
that other 95% that perpetual tax cuts for the rich, at the
expense of vital social programs, are in their best interest:
"Hey, stick with us, we're almost there. If we just
give a few trillion more in tax breaks to the top 1%, maybe
even turn the Social Security Trust Fund over to them, that
money should start trickling down to you working folks any
time now!"
The working folk are beginning to realize they're being
scammed.
Karl Rove understands perfectly the potential voting scenario
I've just laid out. He's done the numbers himself a hundred
times. He's watching the polls, doing focus group studies.
So there's one more thing we must do if we're to pull this
off in 2004. If called upon, we're going to have to obfuscate.
We're going to have to look the pollster straight in the eye,
and calmly state: "I support George W. Bush and the Republican
Party in anything and everything they do!"
I know this is the most difficult part of this 'operation',
but it's also the most crucial.
Remember, Rove is watching, he's listening, he's gauging
the need to take more drastic action if necessary. If he believes,
due to the poll numbers, that they're going to lose, all bets
are off. They will do anything - and I mean anything - to
maintain their hold on power and see their goals of domestic
and global domination to fruition. If, on the other hand,
he thinks the election is in the bag, he might let it proceed
relatively unhindered.
This could be our best, possibly our last, opportunity to
preserve our constitutional form of government and the ideals
it represents. Let's not let it slip away without a fight.
Even if in the end we lose, we can still take pride in the
fact that we tried; that we made an extra effort, took some
action. History smiles upon those who tried.
And nothing helps dispel those feelings of frustration and
hopelessness than taking constructive action. This alone is
worth the effort.
So put on a smile, a clean shirt, and go talk to someone.
Present your case.
Do it for yourselves. Do it for future generations. Do it
to support the troops.
Do it because, as a committed citizen of this country, it's
your responsibility to do so.
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